Training Sesh
by Foolish Professional
Summary: A twist on the chariot social link and other in-game events, where Yu is actually a bit knowledgeable about close combat and gives a bit of instruction to Chie and perhaps other members of the investigation team. Eventual Yu/Chie. Update: This has become more of a lazy novelization focusing on Yu and Chie's relationship.
1. Chapter 1: Light Sparring

**Author's Note: Loosely based off of the chariot social link. _Italics_ are the character's thoughts. I don't think there's enough Yu/Chie out there, so rather than complain about it I decided to contribute something of my own. Any others out there that are a fan of this pairing I encourage you to do the same. I'm not a big fan of writing fluff, but I do enjoy reading it. I like to think my writing is fairly decent, but I'm not that confident about it. Any constructive criticism is much appreciated. Chapter 2 is finished, but needs some revising and editing.  
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**I'm going to try to make the romance aspect a bit realistic, so there won't be even any signs of it budding for at least a few chapters.**

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><p>Yu straps on his shin pads and wraps his hands just like the countless times he has before. He puts on some gloves, which are more akin to MMA gloves. They're lightweight and will protect his hand from being broken, but they allow for the use of his fingers so he can grapple. He tosses his shin pads and training gloves from when he was a bit smaller to Chie, who looked a bit confused.<p>

The reason for her confusion being the fact that while fighting shadows, his weapon of choice is a two-handed sword.

"Are you gonna put those on or are you just gonna keep standing there? You got a mouth guard like I told you to right?" Yu looked like he was raring to go.

This snaps Chie out of her confused trance, "Oh yeah, sorry. I was just surprised is all. I mean, if you knew some MMA why do you use a sword?"

"Well, if you think about it... A sword is just an extension of your body. Its like having an extra long arm that's really sharp. If conditioned the right way your body itself can be a weapon." Yu's philosopher side shows itself as he explains eloquently. "Either way I wouldn't really call it MMA, I'm just decent at Muay Thai, western boxing, and grappling. I know a little bit from other styles, but its really not much overall."

"I've only picked up some things from Kung Fu movies... You're still so much more impressive compared to me." Chie seems pretty sullen while saying this.

Yu rubs the back of his head a little, "Hey, don't get down on yourself." He stands straight up and faces her, "C'mon, I wanna see how tough you are! And don't you dare hold back!" Yu puts his mouth guard in and shifts in to his fighting stance.

This was all Chie needed to hear to perk up, "Alright, but you'll be sorry!" She puts her mouth guard in and shifts to her own battle stance.

In all honesty, Yu planned on pulling his punches more than he usually would for a spar. He felt apprehensive about fighting a girl, but he kept reminding himself it was a friendly spar.

Yu circles around Chie, making sure to keep his steps proportional to make sure his feet stayed the same distance apart. Chie stayed still in anticipation, her body coiled ready to strike at a moment's notice. _Well if he isn't going to make the first move, I will!_

Chie darts at Yu and winds up for a devastating roundhouse to his midsection. Yu merely zones out of her range and lets her foot slice the air that he was occupying a moment earlier. Chie's face scrunches up in frustration, as she was sure she was fast enough to catch him, but now she left herself wide open for a counter attack.

Using the opportunity in front of him, Yu does a quick step in and delivers a swift front leg kick before zoning back out and resetting his stance.

Chie winces at the pain this causes and is genuinely surprised that such a simple kick could cause this amount of damage. She stumbles back in to her stance, only she starts bouncing around to try to get the feeling in her left leg back.

_He's so calm, that its pissing me off! He's toying with me._ Chie knew full well Yu could have done a lot more than that.

This time Yu took the offensive. He steps in to his punching range and throws a jab that connects with Chie's forehead. Snapping his hand back to his guard, he bends his knees and throws his hand out one more time to dig in to Chie's stomach. She grits her teeth at the sudden jab to her midsection. It knocks a bit of the wind out of her, but she knows it could be much worse.

He quickly resets his stance before his right hand flies out towards her face. But something was different, his palm was out facing her. This was to keep her focus on his hand while he sends out a forceful rear leg kick to her left leg.

"Agh!" Chie tries to step away, but it was too late as Yu's shin already made contact with the side of her quad. "My leg won't listen to me!" Her leg went numb, and she tried to guard the rest of her body in anticipation of the onslaught of strikes that were surely coming for her.

But nothing happened. She let down her guard and looks towards Yu. "Narukami..."

"Okay let's stop there." Yu had a worried expression on his face. "How is your leg? I'm sorry, I went overboard with that last kick, didn't I?" He walked closer to her.

This only proved to irritate Chie further, "Don't treat me like some weakling!" Reason left her mind for a split second, and anger took over her body to deliver a straight kick to his stomach.

The kick was unexpected, and the vicious intent behind it was already enough to knock the wind out of Yu. He instantly falls to his knees clutching his stomach. Raspy groans escape his mouth, and his forehead makes contact with the ground.

Chie immediately regretted her action, "I'm so sorry Narukami! I don't know what I was thinking, I just got really mad. I feel so weak." She frowns as she laments her own powerlessness over her emotions.

"It's alright Satonaka." his voices manages to rasp out while he holds up a hand to reassure her.

Eventually he catches his breath, and he looks up to give her a warm smile. "There are some things we should go over, though. Let's spend the rest of the time going over technique. I just wanted to get a good gauge of your current skill level." Chie perked up at the thought of being actually being taught and getting stronger.

Yu's expectations were pretty spot on. Chie has a good grasp of her own body mechanics, she knows how to put power in her kicks. She's got a pair of pretty strong legs and she's pretty agile to boot. However, her footwork and technique were both lacking. Sure, it's great to demolish an enemy with a single, fatal blow, but it's generally safer to take potshots while maintaining a comfortable margin of safety. You never know what can happen, as an enemy may turn out to be more tenacious than you thought and all of a sudden you can find yourself wide open to a counterattack that can potentially end your life.

Chie earnestly listened to Yu's advice and instruction on footwork. He was confident that she would be able to dance around enemies in no time. But one thing was still concerning him.

"Your legs aren't conditioned enough." Yu had a serious look on his face now.

"Huh? Didn't you just tell me I had strong legs?" Her eyebrows scrunched as she tried to make sense of what Yu had just said.

"No, your muscles are fine. I mean your pain tolerance. It only took two leg kicks before your leg went numb, and seeing how your legs are your main weapons, it's a liability."

"W-well, how do I fix it?" Chie sighs at this realization, looking towards the ground.

"Unfortunately... You just have to take more kicks. You should also condition your shins, so that even if you kick something really hard, it won't hurt as much."

At first Chie is already wincing in pain from this explanation, but resolve immediately replaces the hesitance in her eyes. Yu explains the exercises and drills that she is able to do on her own at home in order to help the process along.

"I think we can call it a day at this point. The sun is going to set pretty soon." Yu looks towards the sun while he wraps up his instructions. "I'll walk you home, let's go."


	2. Chapter 2: Results of Training

**A/N: This is going to be a short chapter that focuses on Chie and Yu's training progress showing in battle. I'll do one of these every few chapters or so. I couldn't remember the exact resistances of the Tough Guy and Nice Guy while writing this, so they are slightly mixed up so I apologize.**

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><p>"Kya!" Chie's right leg cuts through the air and makes a shadow explode after making its impact. She immediately side steps as another shadow takes a swipe at her with its sharp claws. She counters by sending her shin to the side of it's head, sending it stumbling sideways.<p>

Yu quickly steps in and impales the shadow's gut with his sword which makes it keel over. He begins weaving his body left and right in an infinity like motion while sending overhand strikes to the shadow's head. He finishes the shadow off with one final, explosive right hand. He retrieves his sword as the shadow's body dissipates and looks around to confirm that the battle is over.

Yosuke and Yukiko looked on with surprised expressions. "Whoa... I never noticed it before, but Yu really knows how to fight while unarmed. I guess I never really paid too much attention to it before now." Yosuke looks towards their leader, very much so impressed.

"Chie's fighting style seems different now. It seems more... Graceful, don't you think? It was like she was dancing around those shadows. They didn't even use their personas for this fight." Yukiko added.

Yosuke and Yukiko catch up to Yu and Chie. They had stayed a safe distance ready to summon their personas when Chie and Yu rushed the shadows without hesitation.

"What's with you two? You haven't been coming to the TV world without me and Amagi, have you?" Yosuke looked a bit worried now.

"No, no. We just started training together a few times a week. Martial arts and stuff." Chie attempted to reassure them.

"Oh, private lessons huh?" Yosuke winks at Yu.

Chie promptly stomped on his foot, "It's not like that Hanamura!" She yells at the top of her lungs.

"Quiet down! Let's not attract any more attention than necessary. We're here to save Tatsumi remember?" Yu reminds his teammates sternly.

"He's right, save your squabble for some other time." Yukiko looks worried.

"Yeah, sorry." Yosuke apologizes, "Hey partner, you think you could show me teach me some of those moves sometime?"

"Sure thing, but I don't really know much about dual wielding broadswords... I could just help you with some footwork drills." Yu seemed to be in deep thought.

"Hey, don't get distracted! You guys have time for that later! It's really stuffy in here so let's make this quick. Look, the stairs are over there." Chie points towards the staircase amidst the warm steam that enveloped them.

"Sensei, I smell him! He's on the next floor!" Teddie's voice echoes the room.

"Let's do this." Yu looks at his team, who nod in affirmation of their resolve. They rush up the stairs, ready to take on whatever is waiting for them.

They reach the top of the stairs and find themselves in front of enormous double doors.

"Isn't this... Pretty much the same layout that castle Yukiko was in had?" Yosuke raises an eyebrow, "These shadows really don't have much creativity, do they?"

"Should we really be nitpicking about that right now? Kanji-kun needs our help!" Yukiko chastises Yosuke for forgetting their objective.

"I think he has a point... I mean, these doors here kind of make it obvious that the boss is in this room." Yu looks as disappointed as Yosuke is.

"I think you two play too many video games." Chie glares at the two boys, who look away from her icy glare. "Oh whatever! Stop stalling already, let's go! KYA!" Chie kicks the doors open. Her fighting spirit is almost radiating from her.

When the doors open, they see Kanji confronting his shadow while poised in a threatening stance.

"I-I..." Kanji struggles to find the right words he wants to express.

"Oh, come now, enough with the charade. Isn't it awful to deceive people? To deceive yourself? What's so bad about doing what I want to do" Shadow Kanji replies, acting as flamboyant as ever.

"That has nothin' to do with it..." Kanji looks dejected.

"I'm what you really want, aren't I?" Shadow Kanji questions.

"Hell no!" Kanji yells indignantly.

"Oh, how I hate girls." Shadow Kanji continues anyway, "So arrogant and self-centered! They cry if you get angry, they gossip behind your back, they spread nasty lies... They look at me like some... some disgusting THING and say that I'm a weirdo... Laughing at me, all the while! 'You like to sew? What a queer. Painting is so not you. But you're a guy... You don't act like a guy... Why aren't you manly...?' What does it mean to 'be a guy?' What does it mean to be 'manly?'" Shadow Kanji rants furiously. "Girls are so scary..." Shadow Kanji pauses a bit.

"I-I ain't scared of 'em!" Kanji nervously rebukes his shadow's words.

"Men are much better..." Shadow Kanji starts again, "They'd never saw those awful, degrading things. Yes, I vastly prefer men..."

"Hell with that! What makes you think you can say that shit with my face!?" Kanji is fuming, letting his shadow get on his nerves.

"Why, you're me... and I'm you... You do know that, don't you?" Shadow Kanji has this creepy grin on his face.

"No... Nuh-uh! No way! There's no way in hell that you're me!

Shadow Kanji cackles maniacally, "You're me, and there's no denying it!" Shadow Kanji is enveloped by a vicious aura as he he grows bigger and transforms in to a big musclebound shadow. Standing at about twelve feet tall, it seemed to be just a shell. A huge, roided up shell. Shadow Kanji's upper body is protruding from where the enormous body's face should be, surrounded by flowers that covered most of his torso, only exposing his obliques. He summons two other shadows that looked identical to each other on both sides of him. One half of their whole bodies were a dark skin tone, while the other side was ghostly pale, as if they used body paint to color each half of their bodies to represent their favorite sports team. They were considerably smaller, but just as muscular. "I am a shadow... Of your true inner self. I'm just being true to myself, and that's why... I'll get rid of anything in my way!"

"Are these Kanji-kun's true feelings?" Yukiko says in horror.

"No way! His emotions are just going haywire!" Yosuke gets ready.

"Be careful! This is one tough grizzly!" Teddie barks.

"Get rid of them one at a time! If we don't dwindle their numbers, we don't stand a chance! Rakshasa!" Yu rushes forward along with his persona. He bobs his head to dodge the shadow's punch and steps in to slash the shadow's chest. Rakshasa slashes at its neck level.

"Tomoe!" From behind, Chie runs up and delivers a powerful kick to its ribs while her persona does the same to the shadow's temple. She quickly zones out before the shadow retaliates.

"Clear out of the way you two! Persona!"

"Persona!" Yosuke summons his just after Yukiko does. The fire spell Yukiko uses his strengthened by Yosuke's wind spell, but it does no visible damage. The shadow just grinned at the miserable attempt to harm it.

"Fire is no good! Ugh what can I do?" Yukiko bites her lip in frustration.

"Amagi, calm down! Fall back and support us!" Yu leaps back and narrowly avoids another punch. He slashes at it's knuckles which makes the shadow reel back and clutch its hand in pain. "Chie, Yosuke! One final blow! Izanagi!"

"Tomoe!"

"Jiraiya!"

They start to run behind their personas, eager to finish it off when the other two shadows intervene. The other henchman kicks Yosuke and he gets sent flying, while Yu gets the wind knocked out of him by Shadow Kanji's weapon, which are basically a pair of huge metal male symbols.

The other shadow sends its huge fist at Chie, but she already saw it coming and counters it with a kick to head. It was ineffective, in fact the shadow looked like it took pleasure from the strike.

"Oooo, that feels good! Let me return the favor!" The Shadow groaned with pleasure. It throws a back hand punch that sends Chie flying towards where Yosuke had landed. Although the personas had finished their attack, they were unable to finish off the weakened shadow.

"That hurt... I don't think physical attacks work on that one." Chie mutters while struggling to get back on her feet.

"I need to be more aware of my surroundings. That one isn't even finished off yet..." Yosuke clutches his side while he stands up. A light shines above their heads and the pain subsides.

"Are you two okay?" Yukiko runs over to them making sure they're alright.

"Izanagi!" The fearless leader was already back up on his feet. He and Izanagi slash at Shadow Kanji's wrists, making him drop his weapons and then uses the opening to dart towards the weakened shadow while Izanagi zaps it with a lightning spell. Izanagi and Yu seem to be in complete sync as they slash at it three times, with the final slash making it explode in the usual blackish-red smoke.

Yu quickly turns around and puts his guard up as Shadow Kanji and the other shadow lunge at him. However their timing was off, and Yu was able to side step both of their attacks, while zoning out of their range. His attention still on the remaining shadows, he says to his teammates behind him.

"You guys alright?" Yu visibly grips his weapon tighter. "Sorry, that was my fault. I wasn't paying enough attention to the other two." The only initial response he got was a light shining over his head and his breathing becoming easier.

Chie and Yosuke step up beside him, "Don't even worry about it. Let's just take out these creeps!" Chie flexes her arm playfully. "His underling seems to actually like being hit with physical attacks. Let's stay away from those for a while."

Yu nods, "Ready, everyone? Let's hit it all at once over and over again!"

"Let's do it! Here we go!" Yosuke yells and summons Jiraiya.

The others follow suit and the shadow is continually bombarded with ice, lightning, fire, and wind continuously until it falls to its knees. Since they are only casting spells, they are able to maintain a safe distance while avoiding Shadow Kanji's attacks.

"You are so annoying!" Shadow Kanji screams. "Time for me to take it up a notch!" He throws his weapons in the ground and flexes.

"Watch out! He's up to something!" Teddie warns them, fear prevalent in his voice.

A few moments later, lightning falls from the sky and strikes all four members of the investigation team. Yu is thankful that he was using Izanagi, as the attack barely damaged him. However, his teammates were a lot worse off. Especially Yosuke who had been knocked down.

"Is that all you got?" Shadow Kanji uses this opportunity to lunge at Yosuke, sending him flying back a few yards with his weapon.

"Yosuke! Sarasvati!" Yu changes his persona to heal Yosuke's wounds.

"Here!" Yukiko follows up with her own healing spell.

Yosuke is still in pain, but he can stand now. "Thanks partner! You too Amagi. You're going to pay for that!"

"Let's finish off this one first!" Chie sends a spell at the kneeling shadow and encases it in ice.

"Izanagi!"

"Jiraiya!"

The shadow is hit by the burst of wind and the lightning bolt and succumbs to its injuries.

"One left!" Yukiko uses a fire spell, and it seems to do a little damage, but nothing significant. "Not again!"

"Don't be discouraged Yuki-chan! That still did some damage!" Teddie encourages her from a safe distance.

"Make healing and support your priority, while hitting it whenever you get a chance." Yu has a determined look in his eye while he gives issues Yukiko her new orders. "Izanagi!" He sends Izanagi forward to slash at Shadow Kanji. "He doesn't seem to be impervious to physical attacks like the other one! You know what to do Chie! Yosuke, cover us!"

"Understood!" Chie dashes towards Shadow Kanji and summons her persona.

"Roger that!" Yosuke summons Jiraiya and sends bursts of wind at Shadow Kanji.

Yu rushes forward. With the end of the battle in sight, he is more determined than ever to finish it. He keeps Izanagi around just in case Shadow Kanji decides to use that lightning attack again.

With two different targets to deal with, Shadow Kanji has a hard time focusing enough to hit even one of them. Chie and Yu are agile enough to dance in and out of his range while attacking every time they step in for an attack. Not to mention the constant wind attacks and the occasional fire attacks. Shadow Kanji drops to one knee.

"This is our chance! Let's go!" Yu declares as they go for an all out attack.

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><p><strong>End Note: I ended it right there since I don't want to have to write out every single detail of the events that happened in the game. I wanted to just show the progress Chie and Yu have made with their training. I wasn't even planning on doing the Shadow Kanji fight, I ended up just being bored during a slow day at work. I wish I was able to look things up during that, as I only remembered the Forbidden Murmur and Roar of Wrath attacks Shadow Kanji used after I had written it all out. And I'm too lazy to go back and add those in.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Boxing and Beef Bowls

**Author's Note: I try to finish these chapters and start on the next chapter before I upload them. I'm going to try to upload a chapter on a weekly basis, but we'll see how that pans out. Especially since I have a sports competition coming up soon (debuting after being over a year after high school), so my mind is going to be preoccupied for the moment and I may fall a bit behind schedule.**

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><p>It has been a few days since they rescued Kanji from the TV. He made a swift recovery and has become a member of the investigation team. The team was thrilled to have him, as the extra man power would make their expeditions in the TV world a bit easier on the rest of them.<p>

Currently every member was sitting on the roof of the school, eating lunch together. They had just gone over the case and the new developments within it.

"Hey, Narukami? Are you free today?" Chie gives Yu a hopeful look.

"Oooo, are you getting some more private lessons from Yu?" Yosuke winked at Chie mischievously.

"Private lessons? Are you having Yu tutor you Chie? I know you didn't do too well on the midterms." Yukiko seemed curious now.

However, Chie ignored the pervert and her clueless friend, but clearly had an annoyed look on her face. She continues to patiently wait for Yu's answer.

After thinking for a few seconds Yu speaks up, "Yeah, I should be free. You want to do some training today?"

"Yeah, let's do it!" Chie says excitedly.

"Man, you two are workhorses." Yosuke groaned.

"They have the right attitude. I admire that. I mean we really don't know when the next person is gonna be thrown in. It's best to be ready for anythin'." Kanji nods. "Maybe I should do some trainin' myself!" Kanji flexes his bicep.

"Geez, what are these guys made of? I'm still sore from fighting Kanji's shadow. That thing hit like a train." Yosuke rubbed his aching muscles.

"Well I don't think we have to go inside the TV for a while, so you can rest up. Just keep checking the midnight channel and the news." Yu put a hand on Yosuke's shoulder reassurigroaned"Oh! We should be getting back. Lunch is almost over." Yukiko said while checking the time.

The rest of the group groaned disapprovingly, and reluctantly go back to class.

*After School*

"Finally! I thought that class would never end!" Chie stands up and stretches her arms a bit. She looks over at Yu, "Meet me on the roof whenever you're ready to go!" She says excitedly.

"I'm ready right now, so let's just skip the roof part." Yu says, as he slings his bag over his shoulder, "Same place as always, I'm guessing?"

Chie nods in confirmation, and they start making their way towards the entrance of the school. They chatted as they walked together, mainly about material that was went over in class today. Yu was apt at note taking, but no one ever saw him study. Yet, he has a way of always making it into the top three scores when it came to exam time.

Before the first exam and after Yukiko recovered, Yosuke, Yukiko Chie, and Yu had a study session together. Yosuke and Yu were goofing off the whole time and somehow Chie got sucked in to their antics, leaving Yukiko being the only one that got much studying done. Chie studied on her own at home, but it didn't do her any good.

As they neared the entrance of the school, they overheard two male students talking, "That's the transfer student right? Walking with Satonaka?"

"Yeah, that'd be him. I've seen them a lot together." The other male student answered.

"Really? I've seen him a few times with Ai Ebihara." The first guy sounds shocked.

"Whoa, no way! I know I've seen him with Yumi Ozawa too, but not nearly as much as I've seen him with Satonaka. Lucky bastard." The second student clearly had jealousy in his voice.

Yu sighs audibly and looks at Chie, who was frowning, "Are you okay?"

Chie returns his look and says, "Yeah, I'm fine. I wish people would realize that it's possible for a girl and a guy to be just friends. But..." She looks down at the ground, unsure of how to say what she was going to say next.

"What is it? You can tell me." Yu looks at her reassuringly, although she still refuses to look at him.

After a few moments she gave him a determined look and spoke, "look, I know Ai Ebihara. And she's not the most pleasant person. I just..." Chie looks down at the ground again, "don't want you to get hurt."

"Satonaka... Well, she has her positive sides. After getting to know her a bit better." He notices her start to look more uncomfortable, "And like you said, it's possible for a guy and a girl to be just friends. And that's exactly what her and I are. Same goes for Yumi Ozawa." He smiles warmly at Chie, was now looking at him with a look of relief.

"Hm... I think it's about time you started just calling me Chie. We haven't known each other that long, but you have seen the worst side of me after all." She winces at the thought of the encounter with her shadow.

Yu nodded, "I'd like you to do the same with me then."

"Why would I call you Chie when I'M Chie?" They both laugh loudly as they walk out of the gates. "If there was anything else to do around here there wouldn't be nearly as much gossip." Chie sighs.

"That's not true, although it seems the rumors here spread faster than they would in the city, people gossip just as much, unfortunately." Yu runs a hand through his hair. They walk the rest of the way to the Samegawa river while idly chatting.

*Later at the riverbed*

"Yu-kun, I want you to teach me how to throw punches." Chie says, getting straight to the point as usual.

"Sure, but why do you want to know that? You're doing an excellent job with just kicks."

"Well, sometimes there's not enough time to throw a kick. The shadows keep getting faster, and being able to throw a combination with kicks AND punches seems like it would be useful." Chie had put a lot of thought in to this request.

"You're right. Good call, Chie." He looks around at the riverbed, and the lone tree they usually train by catches his eye. "This is..." It is a familiar scenery to him, and he's mentally facepalming himself for not noticing sooner. He walks over to the tree.

"Yu-kun?" Chie is confused, wondering what exactly he is doing.

"When you throw a punch, you want it to be as compact as possible. Keep your hands relaxed, and clench them in to a fist just before the moment of impact. This will help to make your punches super sharp and compact. As soon as your fists have flown their course, snap them immediately back to your guard." He shakes many leaves loose from the branches of the tree, and assumes his boxing stance.

He stands there for a couple of seconds and concentrates. Out of nowhere he sends straight punches out at an amazingly rapid pace. It's hard for Chie to keep track of his hands.

He then walks over to her and opens up his hands. It would have looked a lot cooler if he had caught more than three leaves.

"Uh..." Yu is at a loss for words. He flushes in embarrassment.

"Um, what exactly are you doing?" Chie gives him a confused look.

"Well, it worked in this manga I read." He explains lamely. "I guess it's a lot harder than it looks.

Chie laughs heartily, " You dork, get serious!" She mimics the right straight she saw him do and makes contact with his left shoulder.

"Hey, that's pretty good! But you need to sink your hip in to it more." Yu demonstrates for her one more time.

"Like this?" Chie adjusts according to his instruction and she feels more power being sent out with her fist.

"Perfect! Don't leave your hand out there though, make sure to snap it back and reset your stance as soon as possible."

Yu continues to explain basic punching technique and fixes Chie's stance. Chie is a quick learner, and so he goes over how to throw a proper hook and uppercut as well. He has Chie practice putting the punches together while she gets used to shifting her weight back and forth between her feet to put power in her punches. After a while they both are feeling worn out.

"I think we should call it a day." Yu takes a deep breath and stretches his back.

Chie lays down in the grass and spreads out her arms and legs, "So now I know how to throw combination punches, but where do kicks get thrown in to the mix?" She stretches her arms tiredly, but keeps her mind focused.

"Well when you kick, you shift your weight in a similar way you do for punches don't you?" She nods, allowing him to continue, "Just play around with shifting your weight and throwing different strikes, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"It's still pretty early. I guess we did train harder than we normally do." Chie sits up and thinks for a moment, "Do you wanna grab something to eat? I've been craving Aiya!"

"Sure, why not? My uncle already told us he's going to be late tonight, so I can pick something up for Nanako too."

Yu extends his hand out to Chie, who was still on the ground. She grabs his hand and he pulls her up.

"You know what? We should race there. Loser treats." Yu had a devilish smirk on his face.

"Someone is in a good mood," Chie chuckles, "I've never seen you this riled up."

"You chickening out?" Yu says tauntingly.

"No way." And on that notion Chie speeds off.

'Dirty cheater!' Yu reacts a couple of seconds after she takes off running, giving her a good fifteen meters head start.

In front of Aiya, Yu managed to catch up to Chie, although he failed to overtake her. The race ends in a tie, and both of them are left breathing heavily and having to pay for their own food.

After ordering, Chie turns to Yu, "I'm surprised you caught up to me, I didn't think you were THAT fast."

"Well, I wasn't about to let you get away with doing that, you dirty cheater." Yu chuckles a bit, "I totally would have smoked you if you didn't cheat."

"All is fair in love and war," Chie says curtly, "Speaking of which..." She trails off as if contemplating how to approach the next conversation topic.

Yu looks at her curiously, waiting for her to speak up, "You said that Ozawa and Ebihara are just your friends right?" Yu nods and lifts his glass of water to his mouth. "Does that mean you have a different girl you're interested in? I mean, whoever it is has to be pretty good looking to beat out Ebihara, and Ozawa isn't exactly bad looking either."

Yu is astonished at how straight forward the question is and chokes a bit on his water. He contemplates for a moment before speaking, "You know what? You might be right. And you might not be." Putting on his best poker face, Yu decides he should choose his next words carefully.

"Order up!" A bowl of nikudon is placed in front of Chie and a beef bowl in front of Yu.

"Thank you for the food!" They say in unison and start digging in to their meals.

Turning her attention back to Yu, Chie pouts a bit, "You're no fun!" Chie takes another bite of her food, "Spill the beans! Is it Yukiko? I was right the first day, wasn't I?" Chie nudges his elbow and with a mischievous tone in her voice.

"Nah, it's not her." Yu dismisses the accusation, a blank look spread perfectly on his face as he eats.

"Then who is it?" Chie only gets more and more curious by the second. Little does she know Yu set up a trap for her.

"I think you know her pretty well."

"Really? Tell me who it is already!"

"This beef bowl is extra delicious today."

"Stop stalling and tell me!" Yu figures she's been reeled in enough.

"You, of course." Yu says flatly. He turns his head to watch her reaction.

"M-me!?" Chie's face turns beet red, and she no longer has any control over her vocal chords. She stuffers incoherently and makes crazy hand gestures.

Yu can no longer hold his straight face and he bursts out laughing.

"Hey, that's not funny! Don't say something so serious like that if you're just messing around..." Chie turns her back and crosses her arms in a fit.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. They say Yosuke is nosy but you're just as nosy as he is." Yu takes a deep breath as he finally manages to stifle his laughter. "Are you mad? Hey come on."

Chie completely ignores everything he just said. Yu has to admit that she does look cute when she gets all pouty like this. Especially with her summer uniform.

_I've been hanging out with Yosuke too much._ Yu manages to rid himself of his impure thoughts.

"Chie... Alright, I'll pay for your food." He sighs, but he knows this will turn her around.

Chie instantly perks back up, "I forgive you. This time. Next time you pull something like that, you have to treat me to steak. Three times."

Yu winces at this, "Give me a break! First you mooch off Yosuke, and now me?" He can't help but chuckle. _Worth. So much worth__._

"That's what you get for being a jerk!" Chie punches him playfully on the shoulder.

Yu and Chie spend an enjoyable afternoon together filled with laughter and food. After the meal, Yu and Chie say their farewells and head home.

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><p><strong>End note: I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I wanted to show that they have gotten a bit closer, and I'm not 100% sure about the way I portrayed it. Any feedback is much appreciated.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4: The School Camping Trip

**A/N: Here's the next upload a couple days early. This is turning out to be more of a really lazy novelization, and I updated the summary accordingly. This is a really long chapter, so I'm sorry if it gets a bit boring.**

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><p>The day of the school camping trip has arrived. Even though it was really just an excuse to make them pick up litter on Mt. Yasogami, Yu has been looking forward to this day.<p>

"Alright Nanako, I'm off!" Yu says as he opens the door to leave.

"Okay, have a safe trip!"

Usually they walk part of the way to school together, but today he needed to be there earlier than usual. As he walks along the Samegawa river, he meets up with Yosuke who seems to be even more excited than he is.

"Dude this is gonna be awesome! The girls are gonna be cooking for us. They said they were gonna make curry right?" Yosuke can hardly contain himself.

"Yeah, that's right. But... I have a bad feeling about that." Yu grimaces.

Yukiko and Chie had shooed him off when they went to go buy the ingredients to make curry. He was planning to give them a few tips, as he was no slouch at cooking. However, now he has this sense of dread, foreboding the disaster that is imminent. He tries not to worry about it, seeing as how he doesn't know how well Chie and Yukiko can cook anyway. For all he knows they could be better than him. So why does he have a bad feeling about this?

"Oh, come on! Yukiko's family owns an inn, remember? She must have some experience cooking!" Yosuke reassures him.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's just enjoy this trip." Yu feels a sense of relief wash over him.

"Besides, I got a surprise for the second day that you're really gonna enjoy!" Yosuke winks at him with a smirk on his face.

"I have a bad feeling again." They both laugh as they continue walking to school. They start telling each other inappropriate jokes along the way, leading to onlookers looking at them funny while they crack up.

After arriving at Mt. Yasogami, the students are sent straight to work, picking up trash. It's a tedious job, only made worse by a combination of the summer sun beating down on them and the fact they have to wear their PE uniforms, which are just blue jumpsuits with a big "Y" and "H" on the front of the upper layer. If King Moron catches them chatting while doing their job, they get reprimanded for not giving their full attention to picking up the trash. The hours went by painfully slow for the team.

Finally, it was time for lunch. Yu and Yosuke sit at a nearby table while Chie and Yukiko are busily working to prepare the curry. Yu had offered his assistance, but Chie forced him to sit back and relax. He begins to feel nervous again about leaving all of the cooking to the girls. Yosuke on the other hand is completely relaxed.

"It's done!" Yukiko exclaims cheerfully.

"Alright! I've been waiting for this!" Yosuke raises both fists in the air in triumph.

Yukiko and Chie place two plates of the curry and rice in front of them. Just from the smell, Yu realizes his concerns were justified. However, Yosuke was already about to take his first bite.

"Yosuke, wait!" Yu tries to warn his friend, but alas it was too late.

Yosuke had already taken a bite and a mere moment later he begins choking. Yu hands him a bottle of water which he immediately starts gulping down. Yosuke wasn't choking because he was eating too fast. He was choking because of how shockingly bad it tasted. After his body settles down, he turns his attention to the girls.

"What the hell did you put in there!?" Yosuke demanded furiously. "This isn't even edible!"

Chie gets angry and starts yelling back, "You should be grateful we even cooked for you! Besides, it can't be that bad! What do you think, Yu-kun?" She has put Yu on the spot, which makes him shift uncomfortably.

"Yeah, Yosuke-kun's pallette isn't refined enough. You're the real chef here, what do you think?" Yukiko also urges him to take a bite.

"I'm saying this as your friend, don't do it, partner." Yosuke warns him, a stern look on his face. Very rarely does anybody see Yosuke look this serious.

Yu looks back and forth between Yosuke, and Yukiko and Chie. He sees no way out of eating the mystery concoction Yukiko and Chie made. It would be too obvious if he pretended to take a bite, likewise if he were to say he wasn't hungry. Yukiko and especially Chie would be able to see right through him. Which left him with only one choice.

Yu quickly takes a spoonful of the slop and delivers it in to his mouth with gusto. Although, all of the guts and courage in the world couldn't help him stomach the food. This Mystery Food X. He feels s bit lightheaded from just the taste of the food. The smell is pungent, like toxic waste, and is enough to make anybody want to puke. He succumbs to his lightheadedness and lays down for a bit and closes his eyes.

"Oh, great you just made him pass out by feeding him that Mystery Food X! Curry is supposed to smell mild or spicy. THAT thing just smells!" It's odd how in sync Yosuke and Yu's thoughts could be at times.

Yu slowly regains consciousness and finds Yosuke and Chie still arguing.

"Now what are we gonna do for food? We're screwed!"

"Well... Do any of us have cellphone signal? We could order some delivery maybe." Yukiko's suggestion brings the hope back in to Yosuke's eyes.

All four of them pull out their cellphones and check their signals. And they are instantly disappointed.

"Nope." Yukiko frowns.

"Nothing here." Chie throws her face in to her hands.

"Figures..." Yosuke scoffs.

"Not even an emergency call." The fourth voice surprises the other three.

"Oh, hey! You're up!" Yosuke perks up a bit.

"I fainted and you guys didn't call for any medical attention?" Yu grimaces, thinking about the possibility that he could be dead right now.

"Well, you were breathing regularly and Chie checked your pulse, even though it was kind of a weird way to do it- OWWW!" Yosuke is hopping on one foot and yelping.

"Well excuse me for not paying attention in health class!" Chie's face reddened, but whether it is out of embarrassment or anger, no one can really tell.

Chie had put her ear next to his chest in order to check his pulse, not knowing about the vein in the neck that could be used. This had prompted some odd looks from Yosuke and Yukiko and teasing from the former.

"Alright, scumbags! Time to get back to work!" King Moron's voice boomed throughout the rest area.

The investigation team groaned and dragged their feet back to work. Their stomachs each growl audibly as they continue to pick up trash. This session taking even longer than the first.

Night falls and the girls and boys separate and head to their tents. Kanji joins Yu and Yosuke in their tent.

"So... Why are you here again?" Yosuke asks skeptically.

"It's a lot more fun hanging out with you guys. The first year's tent is so dead." Kanji explains.

"It's probably like that because you're in there." Yosuke mutters. "I mean, its no problem since the other two guys didn't show up. But... Nevermind." Yosuke seemed to want to say something, but ultimately decided against it.

The three of them talked for a while. Yosuke and Yu relayed their account of Mystery Food X to Kanji, all three feeling the tension the story brought. It was comparable to a ghost story and they would never wish having to eat that upon their worst enemies. After a while, they decided to go to bed.

"Uh... Kanji? You have plenty of room over there, why don't you use it?" Yosuke nervously says.

"No way, there's a huge rock under there! I'd break my back if I sleep over there. Besides this tent is really spacious anyway." Kanji points to the large bump in the corner of the tent.

"Well, it's just that... How do we know you won't try anything?" Yosuke continues.

Yu realizes where he was going with this and facepalms. 'This is going to end badly.'

Kanji becomes furious at this, "How many times do I have to say it? It ain't like that!"

"Well, you're protesting a lot which makes it seem suspicious." Yosuke keeps going, which makes Yu wish he could facepalm himself harder.

"Well I wouldn't protest it so much if you didn't bring it up every five god damn minutes!" Kanji's temper is only getting worse.

"Keep it down! King Moron will hear us." Yu tries to alleviate the situation, "and stop bringing that up Yosuke."

"I'm just worried is all, I mean if he really does swing that way..." Yosuke continues despite Kanji's flaring temper.

"I don't! Fine, if that's the way it's gonna be, I'm gonna go to the girl's tent! I'll show you I'm a real man! Kanji Tatsumi doesn't take crap from nobody!" Kanji runs out of the tent yelling a battlecry.

"Wait! You'll get expelled if you get caught!" Yu sighs and lays back down, defeated. He then glares at Yosuke.

"What?" Yosuke winces under his friend's piercing glare.

"You went too far." Yu reprimands him. Sighing one more time, his expression becomes one of concern, "Maybe we should look for him."

"No way! If we get caught, we'll be expelled too, you know. We shouldn't risk it."

Yu had admit he was right. No point in getting them all expelled. They just have to hope for the best.

At the girl's tent, Chie and Yukiko are having trouble sleeping, or relaxing at all for that matter.

"Now I know why only three of us were assigned to this tent. Just our luck." Chie grumbles with her attention towards the reason for their frustration. Their classmate, Hanako Ohtani, was laying down belly up on the other side of the tent. She was snoring very loudly, and it would get on anybody's nerves to have to spend the night with THAT.

"You think if we cover her nose and mouth she'll stop?" Yukiko suggests with a tired look on her face.

Chie flinches back in shock of her friend suggesting something like that so nonchalantly, "No, I'm pretty sure she'd die, Yukiko."

Chie thinks about whether the guys are asleep yet and what they could be doing right now. Girl talk is next to impossible with the bellowing whale occupying their tent distracting them.

Chie hears some rustling outside of their tent and moments later the sound of the zipper, "Who's there!?" She didn't wait for an answer and immediately sprang to action.

Back in the boys tent Yu and Yosuke sit by the lamp, wondering who the next person to be shown on the midnight channel will be.

"Who knows? The next person could be someone really famous!" Yosuke grins at the thought of rescuing a well known celebrity, and the rewards they could potentially reap.

"I've been checking the midnight channel every time it rains, but it shows nothing but static." Yu frowns a bit.

A few moments of silence go by, and they hear the zipper to their tent opening.

"Kanji?" Yu hoped it would be him, so no one would be getting in trouble.

The next thing they see is Chie's head poking through the opening, "Chie? What the hell are you doing here? And Yukiko too?" Yosuke says a bit too loudly.

"Keep it down!" Chie hushes them, trying to keep watch for any teachers.

The boys decide to wait for the girls to be completely inside their tent before questioning them further.

"Well, you see..." Yukiko began, but she has trouble finding the right words.

"Uh... Kanji came to our tent, came inside and just passed out!" Chie crosses her fingers, hoping they leave it at that.

"More like you knocked him out..." Yu mutters.

"Chie sure can be scary..." Yosuke adds to his comment.

"All you little shits better be sleeping! Hic!" King Moron's voice echoes through the darkness.

"Oh crap! Hide! Turn off the lamp!" Yosuke whispered frantically.

With no time to think, Yu turns off the lamp, and grabs Chie and pulls her under the cover with him. Yosuke does the same for Yukiko.

Lots of thoughts run through Chie's head, but none of them are about King Moron. Being held close to Yu's chest underneath the blanket caused her face to deeply redden. It was a feeling she didn't mind, she decided. And she was thankful that he wouldn't be able to see how red her face is underneath the covers.

"Hanamura, Narukami, you two asleep I'm there? Ya better answer if you're in there! Hic!" King Moron was standing at the front of their tent.

Yosuke panics and actually replies to him, "Yes sir! We're asleep!"

'Stupid Yosuke!' Yu absentmindedly held Chie even tighter, which made her all but faint.

"No, you aren't! You can't trick me! Go the hell to sleep!" King Moron lets out a big yawn, "Had too much to drink. Hic!" He mutters and walks away.

After they can't hear any more footsteps, they all come up for a deep breath. Yu turns on the lamp and they all sit around it.

"Oh man, I think I just aged twenty years!" Yosuke sighs, "So what are you two going to do? You can't really stay here..."

"Well, it's not like we can go back to our tent... When Kanji wakes up, he's sure to be grumpy." Chie looks down, giving them that cute begging stare girls use whenever they want something.

"We'll leave once the sun starts coming up, before everyone else is awake." Yukiko mimics Chie's puppy dog look, and the boys have no choice but to relent.

Yu nodded in agreement. "Well, that sounds fine to me. As long as no one gets in trouble. We'll go with you to make sure Kanji gets back."

Chie grabs their bags and puts them in a vertical line in the middle of the tent, splitting it. "You two stay on your side."

"Room hog! You two owe me for this... AND lunch." Yosuke grumbles.

"Hey, we have plenty of room, don't worry about it. Sweet dreams, guys." Yu smiles warmly before turning off the lamp and placing it out of the way.

Yosuke took the spot on the outside, furthest from the girls, "Whatever, let's just get this night over with."

"Goodnight!" Yukiko takes the spot on the outside on their side of the tent.

Chie took her place on the inside, closest to the boys, "'Night."

Yu, takes the last remaining spot. Being a heavy sleeper, Yu falls asleep almost instantaneously. The same goes for Yukiko. Yosuke shifts a little bit, but pretty soon he falls asleep as well. Which leaves Chie, who can't seem to fall asleep.

She looks over at Yu occasionally. Their fearless leader who has led them to victory in many battles like a seasoned war veteran. Yet, he sleeps so peacefully, much like an ordinary guy after a day of hard work.

Her mind shuffles through memories they have with each other. From the first day they met, when he had been getting a very long lecture from King Moron and she had saved him by raising her hand and volunteering the seat next to her. That same day she had asked if he thought Yukiko was cute while walking home together, and he had completely dodged the question. Then, there was that time where he had just straight out asked for her number. He needed it for the investigation, but didn't mention it. It had embarrassed her how forward he was in asking for it, but then she realized he would need it for the investigation. That same day she told him that she felt like he wouldn't let her down. He had responded by asking if she was falling for him already. He had said it as a joke, but she was still embarrassed all the same.

Finally, she thought about their close encounter earlier. All of these thoughts and feelings welled up inside of her led her to one conclusion. She likes Yu Narukami, no doubt about it. But, she couldn't tell if he reciprocated those feelings. It was hard to get a read on him. He likes to joke around a lot, but he definitely has his serious moments. Chie decided that it was no use thinking about it any longer and let's her mind shut down.

The next day, the all five members of the investigation team met up on a cliff near the river. "It's over at last!" Chie stretches her body out.

"And no one got expelled!" Yukiko adds, everyone nodding in agreement.

"Well, now that we have some free time... Let's go swimming!" Yosuke says excitedly.

"Huh?" Chie furrows her brow in surprise.

"You want to go swimming? No way, I'm too tired." Kanji was squatting on the ground, exhaustion painted all over his face.

"You couldn't sleep last night?" Yu inquires.

"Well, I don't know. I remember running out to go to the girls' tent, but the next thing I knew I woke up in the tent this morning feeling all sore and beat up." Kanji yawns and cracks his neck.

It had been no feat to wake Kanji up and pry Hanako off of him. When they had gone to the girls' tent, they found Hanako cuddling a passed out Kanji in her sleep. Kanji was in a weird position, most likely the same position he passed out in when Chie had knocked him out. He had been pretty heavy to carry back to the tent, even with both Yu and Yosuke working at it. After all, dead weight always feels three times heavier than it should be.

"If you wanna go swimming, you can just go by yourself! Leave us out of it." Chie said, shutting down any plans Yosuke might have had.

"It'd be no fun if I'm the only one swimming! And well... you two do owe me." Yosuke said mischievously.

Yukiko had a worried expression on her face, "He's got us there..."

"That's true, but... we uh, forgot our swimsuits! Sorry, looks like you're outta luck!" Chie was happy with the excuse she made, and Yukiko happily went along with it.

"Leave that to me," he winks at Yu and pulls out two swimsuits from his bag. One was green and orange, and the other white with red trace. "From Junes' summer line! I'm sure they'll fit you perfectly." Yosuke winks again, albeit coming off pretty creepy this time.

"That's... what you left to go get at Junes'?" Yu was feeling pretty creeped out himself from this.

"Dude, that is so messed up." Kanji agreed that it was going too far.

The two girls sighed in exasperation, took the swimsuits, and went off in to the woods to find a good place to change in to them. Yu and Yosuke did the same, but took considerably less time. They met back up with Kanji who was still squatting in the same position as they left him. Kanji yawns loudly, and Yosuke starts to tap his feet impatiently.

"Sorry for the wait." Chie said from behind them. There was an odd shyness in her voice that is uncharacteristic of her.

"Whoa."

"Wow."

"Holy crap."

Their jaws instaneously dropped one after the other. The three boys could only express their amazement at the sight that beheld them, as if they couldn't believe that Yukiko and Chie actually put on the swimsuits despite how creepy the situation was.

"Quit your gawking!" Chie is a lot more embarrassed than she is angry, but there is no doubt there is indignation behind her words.

"Either say something, or look away! Geez..." Yukiko says coyly.

"You both look great." Yu compliments both of the girls, but it seems to only serve to further their embarrassment.

"What the hell!? Don't say THAT!" Chie is now equal parts angry and embarrassed. One wrong move now, and they'll have footprints all over their faces.

Too bad Yosuke can't see the situation for what it is, "Damn, I knew you'd look good, but not that good! I mean, you both still look like little girls, but after you do a bit of growing, you'll be both be really hot! Right Yu?" The moron winks at his friend, still not seeing the dangerous situation they were in.

"Uh, Yosuke I think you're going a bit too far." Yu tries to reprimand his friend, but the damage has already been done. And now they were going to pay the price.

"Now, I'm really pissed!" Chie's voice thunders through the air, and before Yukiko even has a chance to agree with her, she charges forward.

Yu takes a moment to wonder what he did to deserve this before he recognizes the wind up Chie is doing. He's seen it plenty of times before in the TV world. Actually, they all have seen the technique she is about to use. It's a very handy one, one that amazed them all the first time she performed it. It was the Galactic Punt, and it was headed straight for Yu.

_Why not Yosuke? He's the one who said all of that little girl stuff! Why me!?_ Yu doesn't have any more time to think about it. He has to either dodge or block it. If he doesn't, he's a goner for sure. He isn't even sure if he CAN block it. _Treat it like any other straight kick. Come on, focus! All it takes is a simple sidestep, but this pressure is unreal!_ He can't sidestep too early, or else Chie will have time to adjust and he might literally end up seeing bides his time, waiting for the moment Chie raises her leg. _Now!_ Chie's leg is raised and chambered, and as she takes her final step in, Yu sidesteps. However, due to all the pressure he was feeling, he sidestepped in the wrong direction – to the inside rather than the outside.

Luckily for him, Chie did not expect him to dodge her Galactic Punt and couldn't follow up with any other attacks. Unfortunately, that's where his luck ends, and Chie's forward momentum continues and their bodies collide, pushing him backwards. There is nothing to be done now, they both have lost their footing and will now be sent crashing in to the river.

Mid-fall, Yu instinctively grabs Chie and pulls her in close, so that if they end up landing on something hard, Chie's fall would be softened. Chie blushes and is embarrassed by being held so close, especially because she isn't wearing much clothing. Fortunately for them, the cliff was a straight dive directly in to the water.

The two were still hodling on to each other when their heads surfaced. The water was cold, and it stung against their bare skin. It was only made tolerable by the heat their bodies radiated off to each other from being in such close proximity. "Are you alright?" Yu asks. He feels something peculiar touching his torso. More like two things. They were soft, a bit round, but they weren't all that big. They were also a little bit pointy. Yu's eyes widen after realizing something. _Are those what I think they are?_

Chie notices finally what had exactly happened to her top. When they had fallen in to the water from so high up, the force from hitting the water made her top go up, exposing her breasts a tiny bit.

"AAAH!" Chie shrieks hides her body underwater and pushes Yu away from her so she can adjust her top without letting him actually see anything. Her face glows a bright red and she struggles to find any words to say, only sputtering out incoherent phrases.

Yu stumbles upon his words for a bit before finally saying something coherent, "Uh, I d-didn't see anything." Yu instantly regrets saying this, as it prompts a furious look from Chie and a drop kick to the chest. Yu resurfaces after a moment, and floats on his back. _What did I do to deserve this?_

"Hey, are you two alright down there?" Kanji calls out to the two in the water.

"Chie, what was that scream about?" Yukiko asks, "There's not a snake down there, is there?"

"N-no, we're fine!" Chie calls back to reassure their friends they were okay.

"Of course she's fine at least... I mean did you see that kick?" Yosuke only says this loud enough for Yukiko and Kanji to hear. He calls out to Yu, "You alright, partner?" Yosuke doesn't receive a verbal response, only what seems to be a nonchalant thumbs-sideways in the distance.

Retching is then heard from somewhere upstream. Everyone looks over at the source of the noise only to see King Moron on his hands and knees hurling up his insides to the river. In the distance, disgustingly colored chunks can be seen floating down the river towards Yu and Chie.

Yu and Chie start yelling and running towards the riverbank frantically. They shout at each other casting the blame on the other.

"Well, I'm just glad we saw that before we went in." Yosuke grimaced. "Looks like those two are having a bit of a lover's quarrel," Yosuke adds, his expression lightening up watching the fallen two bicker.

This elicits a giggle from Yukiko and a confused grunt from Kanji, "Huh?"

Yosuke sighs, "Man, you're really out of it aren't you?"

This school camping trip would be one the team would never forget. Even after a whole week of showering twice a day, Yu and Chie still didn't feel any cleaner than before. No amount of scrubbing and soap was enough to ease their minds about the whole incident.

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><p><strong>End Note: I have chapter 5 already waiting to be uploaded next week, which gives me ample time to prepare for chapter 6. That being said, I'd like to know what you, the readers, think. How do you feel about more fight scenes? I don't plan on writing Mitsuo's shadow fight (unless requested), so it would be a short, regular shadow fight. Then there'd be a couple of social link scenes and such. Would you like me to do more scenes that are not in-game? Or continue to do a mix of in-game events (with changes, of course), and my own original scenes? Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5: Sleepover

**A/N: Here's Chapter 5. I haven't gotten much done with chapter 6, since I've had writer's block as of late. I'm lacking the motivation to write it. I'll still try my best to have it up by next week though. Thanks for your patience.**

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><p>Rise Kujikawa. That name irritates her and she knows exactly why. It's safe to assume that Chie Satonaka was a bit of the jealous type. Although, she was very good at hiding it. When Rise had clung to Yu's arm and flirted with him during their team meet up, Chie had been able to hide her irritation and instead she made a deadpan comment- the type Yu usually makes.<p>

Luckily for her, Yu reacted uncomfortably to Rise's forwardness, but that still didn't manage to alleviate her fears completely. She and Yukiko had made arrangements to have a sleep over at Yukiko's house. It would be the perfect opportunity to have some girl talk, and Yukiko had a few questions of her own to ask Chie. Chie has kept to herself about her feelings for Yu, but Yukiko has had a sneaking suspicion for a while and was looking to confirm it.

They are sitting around the coffee table in Yukiko's room when Yukiko decides to just come right out and ask her question, "You like Yu, don't you?"

Chie is taken aback, "Is it that obvious?"

"Well, not really, but I do know you pretty well," Yukiko says reassuringly, "I don't think anyone else is as sure as I am. Don't worry!"

"Well, that's not really the problem. I don't really mind if anyone else knows..." She looks down at her cup of tea. She wasn't that big of a fan of tea, but maybe drinking it would impart a bit maturity and wisdom she needs to make the right choices and put her mind at ease.

"Well, what's the prob-" Yukiko pauses for a second, realizing exactly what was bothering her friend. She utters just a single name, "Rise."

"Right on the nose..." Chie sighs and puts her head down on the table. "Should I be worried? How do you think he feels?"

"I don't know, he is a pretty hard read." Yukiko wishes she could be of more help to Chie, "I think that's probably a better question to ask Yosuke-kun."

Chie lifts her head and looks Yukiko in the eye, "Well, should I be worried about Rise?" Chie furrows her brow in frustration. 'Boys are complicated.' No, that wasn't quite right. Yosuke was simple, but Yu was complicated.

Yukiko sighs, "I don't know. Judging by how he reacted to her flirting, you might not have anything to worry about." She felt powerless to help her friend.

In truth, she also had a slight suspicion that Yu reciprocated Chie's feelings. But she couldn't be sure, and she sure couldn't get Chie's hopes up over a slight suspicion. Yukiko hasn't spent enough time with Yu to really make an accurate enough assumption.

"She's so much prettier than me. Not to mention a lot more feminine. If she's my competition, I don't stand a chance! She's an idol!" Chie threw her hands up in frustration.

"I don't think Yu cares about that kind of thing. The first time he even heard of Risette was on the news coverage of her announcing her taking an extended vacation." Yukiko recalled the day after Rise announced she would be coming to Inaba for her vacation.

Yosuke had been completely ecstatic, and Yu had merely asked what the big deal was. Yu revealed the fact that she had actually met and talked to her after he had chased her down to give her phone back after she had dropped it. It explained why she acted so paranoid when he had done that. But, he hadn't even recognized or heard of her at that point. And that fact shocked all three of them.

"Yeah... Maybe you're right." Chie nods sullenly, "Boys suck," she sighs.

"Don't worry too much about it. At least he thinks you look good in a swimsuit!" Yukiko teases her a bit.

Chie's face turns red remembering the incident, "Uh th-that's..." Chie uncontrollably stutters until she remembers another detail, "He said you looked good too! Don't put this all on me!" It was Yukiko's turn to be embarrassed, "Stupid Yosuke."

Yukiko nods in agreement, "Either way, he does seem to think you are pretty, and you are. You need to give yourself more credit! You have good qualities, you just need to look at yourself more honestly."

Her words reassure Chie. Now, there is one more topic on the list. "Do you like anybody?"

"Huh?" Yukiko is taken by surprise with the conversation turning on her. Chie keeps prodding the question over and over again throughout the night. However it doesn't do much good. They laugh and continue chatting throughout the night.

Meanwhile, in Yu's room, the boys had decided to do a similar sleepover. Well, it was more like Yosuke imposed himself and took Kanji along for the ride.

"So... Why did we have to have this at my house?" Yu looks at his two buddies incredulously.

"Oh come on, don't be that way! How many times have I treated you guys at the Junes food court now?" Yu had to admit that Yosuke has been pretty generous whenever they met up at Junes.

"So, why exactly is the point of this, Yosuke-senpai?" Kanji looked just as confused as Yu did.

"Team bonding! What else?" Yosuke grins with pride, "This will be good for our team chemistry, so let's have some fun!"

"Makes sense, I guess. What are we gonna do though? Play some cards?" Kanji looks around the room, searching for something they can do for entertainment.

"I don't really have that much in my room, I only planned on being here for about a year, after all." Yu rubs the back of his head.

"Well, I see you have some speakers set up over there, you like music Yu?" Yosuke points over at Yu's desk, where there were some pretty fancy looking speakers and a cord to plug in a music device.

"Yeah, a little bit," Yu thinks for a moment, "Speaking of music, you're always wearing your headphones during a battle, what kind of music are you in to?"

"Yeah, what's up with you and your headphones all the time?" Kanji curtly adds.

Yosuke seems a bit embarrassed at their observation, "Well, you see... I listened to music before when I lived in the city, but not as much. When my family moved here though, it was a way for me to escape. A way for me to escape all of the whispering, to avoid the stares I got." He frowns at the thought of all the resentment of some of the townspeople, "but, to answer your question, I mainly listen to hip hop and pop music. What about you guys?"

Kanji is the first one to answer, "I'm not really in to the whole music thing." His answer is met by shrugs from the other two.

"Well, I can appreciate almost any genre of music. I really like jazz and blues, but I gotta admit that I'm mainly a hip hop guy. You ever heard of Nujabes, Yosuke?"

"Pfft, I only have his whole discography!" Yosuke pulls out his music device and shows it to Yu. Sure enough, he does have every album.

"Same here!" Yu chuckles, "What are some of your favorite songs by him? I really like 'Luv (sic)' parts two through four. Those three are always guaranteed to be on a playlist if I'm in the mood for Nujabes."

"I like those songs. Actually, I like all of his songs. I haven't come across a song of his that I don't like." Yosuke thinks for a second and asks, "Do you have a playlist ready to be fired up right now?"

Yu smiles widely, "You bet I do." He walks over to his desk and pulls his own music device out of a drawer. He plugs it in and hits a few buttons, and a moment later music starts to fill the air. He fiddles with the volume controls a little bit to get an optimal volume for being the background of conversation.

"Nice, 'Feather' is always a pretty good playlist starter." Yosuke winks approvingly.

"I gotta admit Senpai, this sounds pretty cool. You guys just might convert me in to a fan of this guy." Kanji listens intently, trying to take in as much of the experience as possible.

"Weird, I would have pegged you as more of a punk rock type of guy, Kanji." Yosuke had an amazed look on his face.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!?" Kanji bellowed, while his two senpai laughed.

The three of them sit back, enjoying the music. After a few songs, Kanji speaks up, "This song sounds a bit different than the others. Don't get me wrong, I still like it, something about it just seems different."

"Wow, for someone who isn't a fan of music, you sure caught on to something obscure." Yosuke contemplates for a bit, "You see this was his last album. Well, sort of. It was released after he died."

This drops Kanji's jaw a bit. A look of disappointment quickly spreads across his face.

"He actually died before he finished. It was a traffic accident back in 2006. His closest friends all came together to finish and publish it for him. So the style is a bit different, but not that much different." Yu finishes the explanation. The atmosphere in the room became gloomy in an instant.

Yosuke ruffles his own hair in frustration, "Argh, no more sadness! Let's change the subject." Yosuke thinks for a bit before a metaphorical lightbulb turns on over his head, "Kanji. Yukiko, Chie, or Rise, if you had to choose one? I mean... If it is how you say it is."

"Would ya stop bringing that up already?" Kanji is fortunately a lot calmer about it this time. After the camping trip incident, Yosuke stopped bugging him as much about it.

"Well, Yukiko-senpai is really nice, but a bit weird. Rise is a bit too much to handle. And Chie-senpai can be downright scary sometimes..." Kanji voices his thoughts aloud, "If I had to, guess I choose Yukiko-senpai. What about you?" He turns his attention to Yu.

However, Yosuke is the one to answer, "Isn't that obvious, Kanji?" Yosuke looks at him for a second and continues after seeing the confused look on his face, "He would choose Chie, hands down. Right partner?" Yosuke gives Yu a sly wink.

"Oh yeah, you two do seem pretty close now that I think about it. I feel kinda stupid for asking now." Kanji chuckles.

"Yeah, I won't deny it. I do spend a lot of time with her," Yu rubs the back of his neck nervously, "and she can be super adorable sometimes. Well, I kinda think she is most of the time."

"Well, are you ever gonna do anything about it?" Yosuke stares Yu down.

"Wh-what? I couldn't possibly... It could compromise our team's chemistry if it doesn't work out." There's no hiding how flustered Yu is at the thought of actually asking Chie out.

"Geez, I don't think I've ever seen you this nervous, Senpai. Good to know that you're human too!" Kanji teases Yu a bit, "But even if she does reject ya, I doubt Chie would feel awkward about it. You're her friend, and she'd probably like to keep you as one. At least, that's how I think she is."

"You keep surprising me Kanji, you can be pretty smart when you wanna be." Yosuke ignores Kanji's growling at him. "But, seriously. I have overheard some things, and you have a lot of girls who are in to you. Lucky bastard. Chie is most likely on that list too."

"I don't think it's worth the risk st this point. I might do it eventually, but for now I think we should just focus on the investigation and exams are coming up soon aren't they?"

"Damn it, why did you have to remind me?" Yosuke grumbles.

They share a laugh, and continue to listen to music. Eventually, Yu pulls out a deck of cards and play some Chinese poker. They make things interesting by making the loser do inane things, such as standing on their head for a minute. The night is full of music, laughter, and mild bruises from losing bets. The investigation and exams can wait, tonight was their night to have some fun.


	6. Chapter 6: Summer Request

**A/N: Sorry it took so long. But, I have some bad news. With classes starting soon for me, I'm going to be writing a lot less frequently. I'm hoping to do two chapters in September, but from then on I'll probably only be able to do a monthly upload at most. I may do more, but if so, then they'll be one-shots for different series and such whenever I have an idea that I just need to document. I'm going to be really busy between school, work, and club activities (trying to make the most out of my college experience). So please be patient if you are following the story, I promise I have someone (irl, of course) that is going to hold me accountable for this story. You can thank her for kicking me in the butt about getting this chapter done actually. without further ado, h**ere is chapter 6, let me know what you think! ****

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><p>Summer vacation has finally arrived. The members of the investigation team are absolutely thrilled that they get a whole month to relax from school. On the first day of summer vacation, Yosuke and Teddie were working at the Junes food court. Yukiko was helping out around the inn. Kanji was apparently doing something for his mother's shop as well. Rise was helping out at her grandma's tofu shop.<p>

That left Yu and Chie sitting in their rooms, twiddling their thumbs, wondering what the other was up to. With Mitsuo Kubo in police custody, they no longer had much reason to train for reasons other than keeping themselves busy. However, after the last fight, Yu and Chie both agreed to take some time off from their training sessions. An agreement they both reluctantly made, as it meant they wouldn't be spending as much time together any more, but it was best that they took time off to recover.

Even with Kubo behind bars, Yu still feels a bit uneasy. Something didn't feel right to him. He is even more paranoid considering that Margaret and Igor have not commented on their capture of Kubo, and are providing their services as usual. If Kubo really was the killer, there wouldn't be any need for them to continue offering their services. But, with no leads at all to go on, he has no choice but to be ready for anything.

In the mean time, some R&R was definitely in order. Unfortunately, as far as he knows, all of his friends are busy, and Nanako is at a friend's house.

He lays back on his futon with an exasperated sigh, "Reading during the day would make me feel like a loser." The only person he isn't sure if they're busy is Chie, but he doesn't want to bug her just in case she is. He ponders for a moment and stands up, "Maybe I should go check up on the fox at the shrine."

The fox has helped them time and time again in the TV world by helping them recover their strength using those magical leaves. At first, the price was way too steep for it to be an option, but the fox had asked Yu sometimes to help it fulfill wishes written on ema's, and upon fulfilling these requests, it would drop the price of helping them considerably. It was to the point where they could finish rescuing each kidnapping victim in a day, rather than needing to spread out the mission over multiple days. Perhaps the fox would have another request for him to handle.

As Yu puts on his shoes he yells in to the empty living room, "I'm off!" He is halfway out of the door when he realizes he just yelled in to an empty house, "Force of habit..." He mutters to himself.

Meanwhile, Chie is resting her head on her desk with her arms stretched out in front of her and holding her phone. She looks at it and hovers over Yu's name in her contact list. "I wonder what he's doing..." She mutters, "He might be spending time with Nanako. I don't think he would mind if I tag along, but... Gah!" She throws up her arms in defeat, "Why am I hesitating? It just takes one button."

She stares at her phone some more before growling in frustration, "I'm just gonna go to the shopping district. I just need to get out of this house!" She puts on her shoes and let's her mother know she is stepping out.

She wanders through the shopping district without having a destination in mind. Chie finds herself in front of Daidara's metalworks and her feet stop moving. She spaces out while staring at the shop for a bit.

She's really not sure why she is even there, but before she can begin to question herself she hears a familiar voice.

"Hey, Chie! What are you doing here?" It was the same silver haired boy she had trouble calling earlier. Part of her felt relieved that it seemed like he had some free time, but another part of her is flustered that he found her spacing out looking at Daidara's shop.

"Oh, uh... Not much, just bored. Hey, are you free?" Chie quickly changes the subject, as she didn't have a real answer for him.

"Well, yeah. I was gonna go to the shrine, but other than that I don't really have much to do today." Yu dejectedly answers.

Chie tilts her head in response, "I didn't take you for the spiritual type," before Yu can give a proper response Chie cuts him off, "I'll go with you!"

Yu is taken aback by Chie's plan to accompany him. If the fox does show up, he's going to seem a bit strange for communicating with it. He remembers the first day the fox came to help them in the TV world, he wasn't able to give them an answer that didn't sound farfetched when they asked where it came from. But this is a good chance to finally explain, at least to Chie, by showing her why the fox was helping them.

With a smile and a nod, they start towards the shrine. When they arrive, Yu comes to a halt in the usual spot and waits for the fox to appear.

"Yu?" Chie tilts her head a bit, "aren't you going to pray or something?" Chie waits a bit for his answer, but her attention shifts when she hears howling.

The fox had appeared ad expected.

"Wait, isn't that the fox that helps us?" Chie questioned, "so it lives here..."

Yu nods as the fox leaps from the roof and lands behind them. Upon closer inspection, it has an ema in its mouth. It walks to Yu and presents the ema.

"Yu? What's it doing?"

"Well, you see... How do I explain this..." Yu contemplates his next words to help him not sound crazy, "This fox started helping us because I helped it fulfill a wish, which brought donations to the shrine." Yu realizes how crazy what he just said sounded, and decides to just come right out with it, "It's a guardian of sorts for the shrine. And as I fulfill more wishes, it charges us less for using those leaves in the TV world."

Surprisingly Chie's expression is one of understanding rather than disbelief, "That makes sense."

"You believe me?" Yu raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we have seen weirder stuff happen. And you don't have any reason to lie. And the evidence is right in front of me anyway!" Chie points at the ema in the fox's mouth.

Yu knelt down to get a closer look what is written where, the ema, "We wish our dog, Koro, would return."

"How are you supposed to fulfill something like that? That's not nearly enough information!" Chie groaned.

Yu only smiled at her before turning his attention back to the fox, "I'll see what I can do."

The fox seemed pleased by this answer and runs off to who knows where, leaving behind a perplexed Chie and an amused Yu.

"Well, shall we get going?" Yu's voice snaps Chie out of her thoughts. She still can't fathom how calm Yu is despite the fact that they have absolutely no leads at all in the whereabouts of the missing dog.

"Don't worry about it too much, all of the requests have been this vague." Yu attempts to reassure Chie, but it only serves to frustrate her more.

"You sure are calm..." Chie grumbled.

Before any more discussion could take place, a ringing goes off in Chie's pocket. Chie sighs and reaches in to her pocket, fishing out the offending device. She stares at it for a moment before sighing again and answering.

"Hello? Yeah... Uh huh. No, I'm just with a friend. Oh, it's no problem. Yeah, I'll be right there. Bye." Chie hangs up the phone with a disappointed look on your face.

"Something wrong?" Yu says with a concerned tone in his voice.

"Oh, no my mom just wants my help with something. So I need to go home now. Sorry I can't help you look for that dog!" Chie says apologetically.

"Oh, no problem. I'll walk home with you." This takes Chie by surprise.

"What? Don't you still have things to do?" Chie looks confused, but not upset about this turn of events.

"No, not really. Just need to find that dog. But, I have a feeling..." Yu smiles warmly, which makes Chie's face warm.

Chie nods, and they set off. The two engage in idle chatter about what they're going to do for the rest of summer vacation, and before they know it, they are at the Samegawa riverbank. They see a lone dog with a collar.

'Could it be? How did he know?' As they approach the dog, it growls at them.

"Let's try speaking gently to it." Yu says as he attempts to befriend the dog.

"For someone who doesn't have a dog, you sure know how to handle them." Chie giggles.

Upon closer inspection, they see that the dog's name is Koro, but whether it's the same dog as the one written about on the ema is unknown at this point. The dog starts to whimper and runs off. It seems like they have to come back another day to find it, although the dog may be in a different place.

"Aw, man! Just when we found the poor guy." Chie grumbles.

"I'm not too worried, I'll probably happen across it tomorrow, and I'll try again."

Yu seems so confident about finding the dog again that it surprises Chie. Yu tended to be right about these kind of things, and this is a pretty small town so it probably wouldn't be too difficult to find the dog again.

"Don't you need to get home? Let's get going!"

Yu had already started walking ahead of her when he called out. Chie jogs a bit to catch up with him and they continue to head home. Before parting, they make plans to meet up the next day at the shopping district to search for the dog.

"'I just have a hunch we'll find him there,' huh?" Chie ponders exactly what gives Yu these "hunches" and "feelings" that, as far as she knows, are always spot on.

"Chie! Earth to Chie! Those clothes won't hang themselves to dry, you know." Chie's mother calls from inside the house.

"Sorry, mom! I just spaced out." Chie laughs awkwardly.

"I can see that," Chie's mother laughs as she sees her daughter's face turn red, "I'm sorry I asked you to come back. I know you were with a friend."

"Oh, don't worry about it, mom. Since it's summer break, I don't mind helping out a bit! Besides, I can hang out with him any time." Chie beams happily.

"Narukami-kun was it? You know, you've been much livelier since he came to town." Her mother's wink made clear exactly what she was implying, "You should bring him around some time."

"Mom! It's not like that! Geez..." Despite her words, there was no hiding the blush that is plastered on her face.

"Whatever you say, Chie." Chie's mother laughs even harder, while she could do nothing but pout.

The next day Chie and Yu meet up st the shopping district as planned.

"Before we do anything, I think we should go towards Tatsumi Textiles."

"What? Why?" Chie pauses a moment, "Do you have another 'feeling?'" Yu can only smile awkwardly as Chie sighs.

They walk over to the textile shop, and sure enough, they see the same dog just a bit past it.

"Seriously HOW do you do that?"

Yu only shrugs in response as they approach the dog. Again, the dog growls at their approach. They speak gently to it again, which made the dog whimper and then run off.

"Oh man, now what?" Chie grumbles. She looks over at Yu who is only smiling. "Let me guess, 'don't worry, I have a feeling blah blah blah.'"

Yu chuckles and nods in response. "Wanna go to Aiya?"

"As if you even need to ask! Race ya!" Chie pounds her chest once enthusiastically.

Yu raises one of his eyebrows, "Chie, it's literally twenty meters away."

"Oh stop making excuses!"

The two friends laugh and make the short dash for the restaurant. They spend quite some time there, eating, laughing, and enjoying each other's company. When it comes time for them to part, they make plans for the next day to attempt to look for the dog again.

When they meet up again the next day in the shopping district, they're unable to find the dog. They search every inch of the shopping district, which fortunately is small and didn't take very long, but to no avail.

"I hope the little guy is alright..." Chie is staring at the ground. After a few moments her stomach growls, Uh... Let's grab a bite to eat," she chuckles embarrassedly.

"Well, since we're already at Souzai Daigaku, we might as well. I've been craving a beef steak skewer myself!" Yu grins happily.

They eat their steak skewers like ravenous wolves. After chatting for a while, Chie decides to suggest something.

"Do you want to get a light work out in? It's too early to just go home. And I already feel like my muscles are starting to get a bit flabby." She looks at Yu pleadingly.

"I was just about to suggest the same thing actually. I think we've healed enough, and I'd like the adrenaline rush." Yu cracks his neck as he finishes his sentence.

Before they leave, Yu grabs a few steak skewers to go. One for Nanako, one for Uncle Dojima, and one for well...

"I just have a feeling." Yu says with a blank face.

"Riiiight..." Chie said disbelievingly, you can just say it's for yourself later, you know." Yu could only shrug in response.

They set off to their usual training spot at the Samegawa Riverbank. On the way there, they find the dog again.

"Hey! It's the dog!" Chie exclaims.

Again, it growls in response to their approach. They speak to it gently once again, and it whimpers. However, it doesn't run away this time.

"I think he's hungry," Yu says. After a moment he realizes something and reaches in to his bag.

Yu pulls out one of the steak skewers and offers it to the dog, who bites all of the meat off of the skewer and devours it. After the dog finishes his meal, he jumps up on Yu and licks his face. The dog then runs off.

"Wait!" Chie calls out to the dog, but it was too late.

"Don't worry, I have a feeling it returned home," Yu smiles for a moment before the smile turns in to a smirk, "and I told you that the skewer wasn't for me, didn't I?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Mr. Psychic." Chie waves her hand dismissively, "Are we gonna throw down, or what?" She turns to Yu with a smirk on her face.

"Let's do it!"

They go down by the tree and throw their bags down, and pull out their training gear. Apparently both of them had anticipated this would happen, so they came prepared.

They touch gloves in the usual manner to indicate that their spar has started. Chie is the first one to move and lunges in to throw a ferocious rear kick aimed at Yu's midsection. He zones out, allowing Chie's foot to pass right in front of him before he steps in himself to take advantage of the opening. What he didn't know was that Chie used this as a set up for a spinning back kick. Yu realizes this just in time and is able to shift his body so that the point of impact is the meaty part of his back that will absorb the damage.

Chie's kick still causes a considerable amount of damage, but leaves her open to a counter attack. Yu delivers a combination of body blows to Chie. He leads with a right straight and follows up with a left hook and rear uppercut, all aimed at Chie's mid section. Chie is unable to block the straight to her gut and the hook to her ribs, but manages to maintain her composure enough to use a crossblock to guard against the uppercut. She uses the opportunity to zone out and now they have reset.

"Chie? Is that you?"

Their spar is put to a halt by a voice. They take out their mouth guards and look over to the source of the voice, a male student from a different high school.

"What are you doing?" The boy inquired.

"Well... Training, y'know, working out." Chie seemed to be a bit embarrassed and even uncomfortable about being seen training by this boy.

"Oh geez, when are you going to graduate to being 'King of the Hill?'" The boy mockingly said.

"'King of the Hill?'" Chie grits her teeth.

"In kindergarten it was the 'Runt Gang,' in elementary school you were an 'Ally of Justice,' in middle school it was the 'Vanguards of the Lunch Revolution,' wasn't it? So, what is it now? You a 'Protector Earth's Peace?'" The boy chuckles.

"W-well..." Chie trails off.

The exchange get on Yu's nerves and was no longer able to keep quiet, "Hey, quit bagging on her."

"Yu... No, really it's okay." Despite her words, the fact that Yu stood up for her cheered her up.

"Whoa, sorry there, I wasn't trying to be mean. My name is Takeshi Kouno. I went to school with Chie up until middle school." The boy's apology seemed to be genuinely apologetic.

"Speaking of which, how's Yukiko? Does she have a boyfriend?" And again, Yu's dislike of him grows.

"Um... She's fine. And I don't think she has one." Chie's mood seems to have been brought back down.

"She still good looking? Maybe I should try for her again. Anyway, tell Yukiko I said hi! See ya!" Takeshi waves and then leaves. Yu really doesn't like this guy.

Chie stands in silence for a bit, watching Takeshi leave. Yu knows that Chie is irritated because of that guy as well. He seems to not have any kind of ability to read situations. He came off as cocky and condescending. Yu didn't like him one bit.

In an attempt to cheer Chie up, Yu tries something, "When are you gonna graduate to 'King of the Hill?'" He imitates what Takeshi said earlier in the most ridiculous tone of voice he could muster.

Chie starts to crack up, "Was that supposed to be Takeshi-kun?" Yu smiles at her, satisfied that his attempt st cheering her up was successful.

"I'm sorry, he's pretty rude isn't he? I've known him for a long time. But, don't worry I don't like him or anything, he's just an old classmate," as soon as the words came out of her mouth, she regretted what she said, but she quickly thinks of something to derail the conversation. "It was irritating the way he talked about Yukiko, that's all."

It was true that what Takeshi said irritated her, and the fact that he was doing it in front of Yu made it even worse. But the main reason why she was upset was because he interrupted her time with Yu, and to top it off, managed to rub him the wrong way as well.

However, Yu's smile was enough to make her get past the trivial incident.

"I believe we have a training session to finish." Yu says as he puts his mouth guard in and gets in his stance.

"Oh, you think you're so cool, don't you?" Chie follows suit, and extends her left glove.

Yu smirks in response to her verbal jab, and extends his own left glove to make contact with hers. They both break away and continue where they left off.

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><p><strong>End Note: Sorry if the scene with Takeshi seems rushed. Don't worry about the social link ranks, I've pretty much abandoned those. I'm just going to keep the scenes that I personally like and adding my own. I have a clear idea of exactly when I want these two to end up together.<br>**


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